A Simple Twist
by BloodAvenger42
Summary: Most know the original story of Bleach, so I decided to mix things up a little. A simple twist if you will. Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach all rights go to Tite Kubo. CH. 11 UP
1. Chapter 1

A Simple Twist

**Chapter 1**

"C'mon keep running!"

Two little figures skidded as they turned the bend. They were sprinting for their life from a larger figure that seemed quite angry with the two.

"Get back here with that water you brats!" roared the angry man.

The man in question was carrying a wooden plank over his head in an attempt to smack at the two little ones. They were two boys and in their hands they held a couple of water containers that they had… "borrowed". Unfortunately they were seen by one of the patrons who shouted and thus the chase began. The two thieves were actually just a couple of little boys in dirty rags. One had bright orange hair with brown eyes with his face more in a scowl while the other had red hair with yellow eyes. They sprinted down the streets of the enormous community they were in called Rukongai. They panted as their tiny bodies started to fatigue.

"Get back here!" roared the man.

His heavy footsteps were getting awfully close to them causing both boys to sweat a bit due to fear.

"Keep running, Renji!" cried the boy with orange hair.

"I'm trying!" growled Renji as he panted along.

They raced down the street with the man slowly starting to gain on them. Suddenly a third boy with messy blonde hair and grey eyes waved to them from the entrance of an alleyway.

"Ichigo! Renji! Over here!" he shouted waving his hands.

The two boys on the run didn't waste any time and booked it into the alley with the third boy closely following. The man came soon after still shouting at the boys as he came along. Suddenly third boy dropped something from his hands causing smoke to bellow up stopping the pursuer from giving chase in favor of coughing. The three didn't stop until they were well away from the place. Only when they were miles away from that spot did they finally plop down and rest.

"Whew, great save, Kisuke!" said Renji.

Kisuke smiled brightly.

"Hey, I told you that those smoke balls would come in handy!" he stated.

"Ah shut up," said Renji with a smirk.

Ichigo chuckled himself before looking up at the sky to see that the sun had started its descent.

"C'mon guys, we'd better get this water back to the others," stated Ichigo with an air of authority in his voice.

The other two nodded in agreement and followed the orange head down the streets once again, but in more of a slower speed.

* * *

The three boys walked into one of the many rundown wooden huts that lined Rukongai. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon by then. When Ichigo pushed the flap aside his scowl immediately softened. Inside were a couple of other kids about the same age as him, Renji, and Kisuke. They were both girls, one was lying on her back with a withered look on her face while the other was tending to her.

"How is she doing, Momo?" asked Ichigo softly as he placed his water container down.

The girl tending to the other looked up at the sound of Ichigo's voice. She had black hair that was pulled back into a messy bun with brown eyes.

"She holding out for now, but if we don't find a way to help her soon…"

Momo trailed off with tears brimming the corners of her eyes. Ichigo immediately put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. Renji in the meantime stared down at the girl in question who also had black hair that was allowed to freely run down to her shoulders before curling out. There were a few stubborn strands that persisted in between her closed eyes. He closed his eyes in sadness. Kisuke settled down beside him holding a wet towel in which he draped over the girl's forehead causing the girl to stir. A couple of violet orbs were soon revealed from under heavy eyelids. They wandered until they rested on the red haired boy.

"Renji…" she whispered reaching weakly for him.

Renji met her half way with a small smile gracing his features.

"I'm here, Rukia," whispered Renji, trying his hardest to keep his voice from shaking.

As soon as Rukia spoke, Ichigo and Momo crawled to the other side of her with looks of relief on their faces. Thus ended another normal day for this struggling group of kids in the slums of Soul Society.

Like all the residents here, they had died in the living world and woke up here. Ichigo Kurosaki met Rukia Hashi and Renji Abarai three years after waking and became quick partners in crime, doing anything necessary to keep each other alive. Ichigo immediately took up the mantle of leader with his strong will and charisma that seemed to keep his two friends going. Rukia was essential with her great acting skills and Renji… well let's say he was a rather unique escape artist. With this set of skills, the three could easily talk themselves out of sticky situations before anything got too messy. They were eight at the time. Two years later the trio came across Momo Hinamori who had an amazing memory making her the navigator of the group incase they got lost in any of their escapades. Four months later they came across Kisuke Urahara, a little genius that loved making fancy getaway devices. The five of them were an unstoppable team… that is until Rukia fell ill a year later due to some mysterious illness. Ever since then, the group took turns watching over the sickly girl while keeping an eye out for some kind of medicine that was open for the taking. That was eight months ago, now they were all around twelve and still they hadn't found a cure for their sick friend.

Ichigo clenched his eyes shut in frustration. He couldn't let Rukia die; he's known her for so long now. A soft hand on his chin caused him to look up to the weak smirk on Rukia's face.

"Baka, don't make that pathetic face, I'll be fine," she said.

Ichigo gave her a sad smile and leaned his head on her shoulder with his eyes closed.

"We'll find that medicine, Ichigo," reassured Kisuke patting his friend on the back, "You'll see."

Ichigo simply nodded. They waited for a while before Ichigo slowly sat up.

"I've got first watch," stated Ichigo reluctantly releasing Rukia's hand and walking to the window next to the entrance.

"Alright, wake me up when it's my turn," stated Kisuke.

Ichigo nodded behind him.

"Good night, Ichigo-chan," whispered Momo.

Ichigo smiled at her.

"Good night, Momo," he answered.

With that the rest of the group curled around Rukia and fell asleep while Ichigo stood resolute, scanning the streets for any potential threats to his family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Mou, this is boring."

Yoruichi Shihoin leaned her chin on her hand with a bored expression on her face her half closed yellow eyes adding to the look. She was at yet _another _"important" meeting of the Four Great Noble Clans of Seireitei. Her father insisted that she attended with him due to the fact that she was the next in line to take on the role as Head of the Shihoin Clan. It was a role she had no care for and didn't want. The thing that especially pissed her off was that she was going to be married off to some random guy from one of the lower noble clans to gain a better relationship with them. As a female, Yoruichi had no say in which she wanted to marry and also had no choice but to obey every command of her father. That didn't mean that Yoruichi would continue to act in her normal aloof way no matter what her father said. He controlled almost every other aspect of her life; hell no was he going to control the very way she acted. So here she was sitting at a table in a room full of stuck-up rich folk who all looked at her with indignation due to her behavior. They could kiss her ass for all she cared; she didn't even give a huge smelly shit about what they thought.

"Yoruichi, sit up straight, you need to act like a proper lady for the other nobles," whispered her father.

Yoruichi simply grunted without moving at all. Her father sighed from beside her. He knew of Yoruichi's loathing for the policies of the noble house, but in all honesty he had no idea why. He made sure she had the nicest dresses and the nicest beds. She rejected all of these gifts sleeping on the floor rather than the bed and wearing simple wear rather than her dresses as much as possible.

"Dad can I go outside? I feel like I'm gonna suffocate," Yoruichi complained.

The Shihoin Head looked down at his daughter for the longest time before finally conceding.

"Fine, but don't wander off too far and _do not_ go to Rukongai," he said, stating the last part sternly.

Yoruichi stopped listening at "fine" and took off without a trace leaving the man with a sweat drop behind his head.

* * *

As soon as Yoruichi got out of the building she sprinted as far from it as possible stripping out of her noble clothing revealing her simple orange kimono with black tights and got rid of her hairpins in favor of tying her long purple hair into a ponytail. She ran across the streets of Seireitei barefoot as she hopped over walls and ducked under legs of people. She finally stopped on the roof of one of the houses and took in a deep breath of air. It was a good thing that she was a Hoho prodigy else it would have taken her quite a while to get to where she was. She looked at the one of the Four Great Seireimon admiring its awesome size. She was so engrossed that she didn't notice a presence come up from behind.

"Fancy seeing you're here, were-cat."

Yoruichi smirked when she heard that voice and turned to see a boy of twelve, the same age as her, with his long black hair tied back into a ponytail like Yoruichi and grey eyes. He wore a simple white training kimono with white combat pants and black combat shoes.

"I'd say the same to you Byakuya-bo," Yoruichi snickered.

Byakuya Kuchiki was the heir to the Kuchiki Clan Head just like Yoruichi was to the Shihoin Clan, but unlike her he held a bit more tolerance to the subject following all protocols. For this reason he disliked Yoruichi for her aloof behavior no matter where she was even at formal gatherings.

"So why are you here? Shouldn't you be smooching with your lovely wife-to-be? What was her name? Hisana?" teased Yoruichi, her smile growing as she saw Byakuya's red face.

"Uruse!" he stuttered, "Shouldn't _you _be meeting _your_ future husband?"

Yoruichi snorted.

"Not a chance," she said dismissively, "They can't chain me to a guy."

Byakuya glared at her.

"So you'd betray your clan simply cause you don't want to marry a certain person?" he growled.

"Oh Byakuya-bo, always with the dramatics," jested Yoruichi looking back at the gate.

Byakuya followed her eyes and when his eyes rested on the gate, he quickly looked back at the girl like she was insane.

"You can't be thinking of running away to Rukongai?!" he cried.

Yoruichi blinked and looked at him.

"Running away…" she said looking intrigued.

Byakuya slapped his forehead for speaking so rashly.

"N-no that's not what I-," he started.

"Running away and not having to worry about the clan anymore…" Yoruichi continued ignoring Byakuya all together.

Byakuya's eyes widened when he saw a smile slowly creep onto Yoruichi's lips.

"Don't you dare! I-I'll stop you!" he declared.

Yoruichi slowly turned her head to him with a wide smile.

"Catch me if you can!" she shouted before she shunpo'd off towards the gate.

Byakuya cursed and took off after her. Yoruichi laughed as she shunpo'd from building to building while taunting her fellow child noble.

"C'mon Byakuya-bo! You can do better then that!" she shouted as she continued on.

"Get back here, were-cat!" he shouted.

"Make me!" she shouted back.

Once Yoruichi reached the doors, she pushed them open and slipped right through. What met her eyes was a whole other world that stretched for miles from the walls of Seireitei. She didn't have time to take in the sights for Byakuya appeared at the doorway. Yoruichi shunpo'd deep into Rukongai without a moment of hesitation, her Kuchiki counterpart stopped after she disappeared. He smacked his forehead in exasperation. The Shihoin Clan was _not_ going to be happy. He was just about to turn around to go back into Seireitei, but then he stopped short remembering something that Hisana had told him.

_"I had a twin sister back at Rukongai before my family found me. We were separated when we came to. I wonder if she is still alive."_

Byakuya blinked before looking back at the rows of broken down huts. He growled before he shunpo'd into Rukongai as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ichigo growled and slammed his fist on the wall of a nearby hut. There were absolutely no signs of there being any kind of doctor or medicine that could cure Rukia of her illness. Time for the girl was running out and the group had gotten nowhere in their search. It was Renji's turn to watch Rukia this time so Momo and Kisuke were with him. Right now they were at one of the major streets of their district and they had just asked a vendor about anything medical in which he couldn't help. Momo patted his back in sympathy.

"We can't give up, Ichigo-chan, there has to be cure somewhere," she said although her voice betrayed her uncertainty.

Ichigo continued to glare at the floor.

"We're running out of time, we've almost completely looked through our entire district and nothing has shown up!" Ichigo cried out in agony.

Kisuke shook his head in sadness while Momo tried to hold back tears. Suddenly the sound of commotion grabbed the attention of the three children. They ran over to see a group of people gathered around a certain spot. The three looked at each other before climbing the roof of a hut close to the crowd and looked over. What they saw shocked them to no end. A girl with tanned skin, yellow eyes, and long purple hair pulled back into a ponytail was fighting three huge men with heavy sticks… and she was winning. Well technically she was allowing the three bakas to smack each other while she elegantly avoided, but still it was impressive. She looked about their age.

"What is she thinking picking a fight?" wondered Kisuke.

Ichigo was silent for a moment before getting up earning questioning looks from his companions.

"I don't know about you two, but three on one his hardly fair," said Ichigo.

Kisuke's eyes widened.

"You're not saying that we should…" he started.

Ichigo's answer was to jump off the roof and into the fray. He landed on the ground in bellow of sand causing the three men to look his way.

"Oy, don't have better things to do then ganging up on somebody smaller then you?" growled Ichigo.

The men all turned from the girl towards him.

"Why don't ya shaddap ya little shit!" growled one of the men.

"Make me," said Ichigo with a grin.

One of the men charged at him with his club raised. Ichigo didn't move as the man brought the club down upon the boy… only to have it stopped by his hand no less. Ichigo grinned before punching the man in the gut… _hard_. The man crumpled into a heap before Ichigo. A second man came running at Ichigo as well, in which he prepared to face.

"Hado #1! Sho!"

Suddenly the man was blown back by wave of force. Ichigo looked up as well as the onlookers to see Momo with here finger pointed in that direction with a frown on her face. Ichigo smirked before looking at the last one. He looked rather shaken.

"Well? You going to give up or what?" asked Ichigo.

The man shook himself out of his stupor.

"Are ya kiddin? Yer just a damn kid!" he growled taking a step forward.

"Bakudo #1. Sai."

Suddenly the man's hands went behind his back and he fell to the ground cursing. Kisuke landed next to Ichigo with a hand up. Momo landed on the other side of Ichigo. The girl in question looked quite peeved.

"I had it handled you know," she spat.

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, at least your safe, c'mon guys," he said turning his heel and walking away.

Momo and Kisuke walked in stride with him. Suddenly the girl seemed to appear out of nowhere right in front of Ichigo forcing him to stop.

"That was some impressive strength you showed there, how long were you like that?" she asked.

"As long as I remember," said Ichigo rubbing the back of his head while keeping his scowl.

The girl then looked at Kisuke.

"And those spells, was that Kido?"

Kisuke shrugged clearly not willing to talk about the subject further.

"Well ja ne… what's your name?" he asked.

"Yoruichi Shihoin," said the girl.

"Okay, ja ne Yoruichi-san," Kisuke said with a smile before nodding to Ichigo who attempted to go around the girl but she wouldn't budge.

"Where are you guys going?" asked Yoruichi.

Ichigo looked close to blowing a gasket so Momo intervened.

"We're looking for medicine for our sick friend and we're low on time so could you please let us by?" she asked kindly trying to rid any anxiety in her voice.

Yoruichi blinked.

"How sick?" she asked.

The expressions of the three Rukongai natives immediately darkened.

"Very…" Momo stated with a distant gaze.

"Look," said Ichigo with a withered look, "We need to get back to her, so please… move aside."

Yoruichi obeyed this time and allowed the trio to walk away. But she shunpo'd from rooftop to rooftop behind them, making sure to be as stealthy as possible. Little did she know that there was somebody following her.

* * *

Renji looked up as soon as he heard the flap open hoping for good news, but upon looking at the defeated looks he knew it was not to be.

"Not successful today either?" he asked.

Ichigo plopped down next to Rukia and buried his face in his hands. Rukia put a comforting hand on Ichigo's, which he took without much thought.

"I'm sorry Rukia," he whispered sadly.

"Baka, don't apologize, you're doing the best you can," said Rukia weakly.

Renji nodded in agreement despite the pained look on his face. Today was just going to end as another failure and a day closer to Rukia's last breath. Ichigo gritted his teeth.

"There has to be _something_ out there that will help, there _has _to be!" he growled.

"I think I can help you."

They all turned to find none other than Yoruichi standing there with a smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The children stared at the newcomer with widened eyes and surprised looks on their faces. Well, Ichigo seemed a bit irked if anything.

"Did you follow us here?!" cried Kisuke in alarm.

"Surprise," said Yoruichi with a chuckle.

Ichigo wasn't in the mood for jokes; he cut immediately to the chase.

"You said that you know a way to heal her?" asked Ichigo.

Yoruichi shook her head.

"No, but I know a friend that can heal her," she said.

Hope immediately rushed into the hearts of the desperate children as they looked at Yoruichi.

"Truly? Somebody that can cure her?" asked Renji gripping onto Rukia's hand.

Yoruichi nodded with a smile.

"Aa, she can cure just about any type of ailment," said Yoruichi, "I've seen it happen myself and I have to say it's a work of wonder."

"Great! Which district is she in?" asked Momo in excitement.

Yoruichi was taken aback by the question.

"Huh?"

"I asked which district she's in… of Rukongai," said Momo with a brow lifted.

"I… no she isn't in Rukongai… she's in Seireitei," said Yoruichi.

Immediately the hopeful faces of the family were dashed when they heard the name of the capital of Soul Society.

"Figures," grunted Ichigo bitterly slumping down in defeat.

Momo, Kisuke and Renji said nothing and sat down with Ichigo around Rukia.

"What's the matter?" asked Yoruichi, clueless.

Ichigo glared back at Yoruichi.

"Take a good look at what we are Yoruichi, we're what you rich folk of Seireitei call 'Rukongai trash', what makes you think that we'll be able to step foot into the walls?" he asked bitterly.

Yoruichi opened her mouth and then closed it again. She hadn't been thinking about that.

"Gomenasai…" she whispered looking at the floor.

Ichigo sighed deeply.

"No… I should be the one apologizing… I shouldn't have burst out at you like that," he said.

An awkward silence pervaded the room for a little while.

"Well maybe I could bring her here," suggested Yoruichi.

"No, that would only give people like those thugs you met another target," said Ichigo.

Yoruichi bit her lip and looked at the ground before realizing something and quickly looking up again at Ichigo.

"I'm the daughter of one of the most powerful noble families in Seireitei, maybe I can get you in," she said with a determined look.

Momo quirked up at this.

"Which one?" she asked.

"The Shihoin Clan," said Yoruichi.

Momo stared at Yoruichi for a full minute with wide eyes before finally finding the words to speak.

"One of the four major clans?!" exclaimed Momo with a gasp.

"Are they powerful?" asked Ichigo.

Momo nodded with her mouth still hanging open. Ichigo turned back to Yoruichi with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Say your name does manage to get us past the gatekeeper, then what?" asked Ichigo, "We aren't exactly dressed the part of nobles."

Yoruichi was again in a tight spot she could certainly dress up the girls, but the guys were another story.

"Uh… well…" she muttered.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, were-cat?"

Yoruichi spun around and there stood Byakuya Kuchiki with his arms crossed and a small smile on his face... something that the Kuchiki clan notoriously lacked.

"Byakuya!" she exclaimed wondering how she didn't sense him coming in.

"What? No 'Byakuya-bo'?" asked Byakuya with a chuckle.

Yoruichi gave her fellow noble a dark look at that.

"Now isn't the time, Byakuya, I'm going to help these people and you'd better not stop me," she growled.

Byakuya simply continued to smirk.

"Relax I'm not here to stop you, but I must ask, who is the one who has fallen ill?" asked Byakuya.

Yoruichi looked to Ichigo for permission. Ichigo and Renji both studied this 'Byakuya' character up and down before scooting to the side and allowing him to see Rukia for the first time. Byakuya seemed to freeze when he saw Rukia. Rukia looked back at him through hazy eyes.

"Who is that?" she muttered.

Renji just put a hand on her head gently and shook his head before looking back at Byakuya. The Kuchiki noble recovered quickly and addressed Ichigo.

"I'll help you," said Byakuya.

Yoruichi was surprised.

"Wha-?" she asked.

Byakuya smirked at her.

"I doubt you have any noble's garb for the boys, so I'll assist on that regard," he stated simply.

Yoruichi huffed. Byakuya turned back to Ichigo.

"We will return with clothes for you, for now you should wait here until we return, with luck, your friend will be alive when we return," he said.

Ichigo studied the two nobles for a while before sighing and smiling for the first time.

"Fine, we'll await your arrival," said Ichigo, "And don't you worry, "our friend" will most definitely be alive when you return."

"And 'this friend's' name is Rukia Hashi, noble," stated Rukia with a surprisingly strong voice despite her sickness.

The rest of the Rukongai natives nodded in agreement. Byakuya sniffed at the scene before turning around.

"Very well, hang in there until we get back, Rukia Hashi," he said before he shunpo'd off.

Yoruichi was about to follow before she felt a hand catch her by the wrist. She turned only to see Kisuke let go of her wrist and wink at her before backing off. The girl blinked, but thought nothing of it and shunpo'd after her fellow noble. Ichigo stared out the way they went before sighing and turning to the others with a smile on his face. He gave Kisuke a look of knowing before addressing the group as a whole.

"Looks like our prayers were finally answered," said Ichigo, "Although for better or worse remains to be seen."

Renji looked towards where the direction of the great capital city.

"Seireitei, I've only heard stories and fairy tales of what's within the walls and now it looks like I'm going to be seeing it with my own eyes," he muttered.

"Yes, it will be a new experience," said Kisuke, "New atmosphere, new attitude, new environment…"

"And a new level of security," finished Momo.

Kisuke pouted at the fact that Momo beat him to it causing the girl to mutter apology. The group all laughed at the scene except for Ichigo who was deep in thought. Suddenly Ichigo looked up at the group.

"It seems like we will have to use our skills at another level," he said.

The entire group was silenced at that and they turned to look at Ichigo once again, the atmosphere once again turning serious.

"So the 'limiters' can come off?" Momo asked expectantly.

Ichigo nodded.

"We're going to Seireitei and we're Rukongai citizens, so expect the worst when we get there," he said.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia before standing up and looking out the window of their little abode.

"If what those nobles told us is true, then this might be our only chance to save Rukia, and I will damn well cut down anyone who dares stand in my way," stated Ichigo in fierce determination.

There smiles among the rest of the group at Ichigo's declaration.

"Hehe, on that we can agree," said Renji.

Ichigo slowly turned around and studied the faces of every single person in the room with a smirk on his face.

"Then let's get ready to kick some ass," said Ichigo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Byakuya still couldn't get the image of Rukia's face out of his mind even as he and Yoruichi shunpo'd back to the Seireitei gate. She was the spitting image of Hisana… she definitely had to be her twin sister.

"Oy, Byakuya," shouted Yoruichi shaking Byakuya out of his thoughts.

He looked over at Yoruichi who had a questioning look on her face.

"Why did you suddenly decide to help these people?" she asked out of curiosity.

Byakuya looked back ahead.

"To fulfill a promise I made to Hisana," he stated truthfully.

Yoruichi was silent for a moment as she let the information sink in.

"Rukia… she looked just like Hisana," she said and then her face fell, "She also looked like she had the same illness."

Byakuya nodded.

"And she shall be cured by the exact same person," he stated before chuckling, "Heh, won't she be surprised to have healed long lost sisters.

Yoruichi simply clicked her tongue as they finally arrived at the gate. They quickly opened the door and slipped through.

"Alright, we'll meet back here when we have everything, cool?" asked Yoruichi.

Byakuya nodded and turned, but before he shunpo'd he left with one last comment.

"Try not to get yourself into any more trouble while you're here will you? Were-cat," he said and then he was gone.

Yoruichi grinned before she turned to the direction of her house.

"Sure thing Byakuya-bo," she muttered.

* * *

Yoruichi looked down at her house and took a deep breath. The greatest stealth warriors of Soul Society of course guarded it as the Shihoin Family had bred them. Yoruichi wasn't at all fazed as she had snuck in and out of her house without any problem, as she was better than any of them. She had actually made it a game to scare the guards once in a while to practice her stealth. Yoruichi stifled a chuckle and shunpo'd in making sure to be quiet until she reached her room. She quickly fished out a couple of dresses for Momo and Rukia and was about to turn when suddenly she felt a familiar reitsu.

"And just where do you think you are going, Yoruichi?"

_Shit!_

Yoruichi slowly turned her head to see none other than her father standing there and he did not look very happy. Yoruichi's eyes narrowed, she was sure she hid her reitsu! How the hell did he find her?

"Surprised? You do remember that I taught you everything you know, right?" asked the Head of the Shihoin Clan.

Yoruichi gritted her teeth and glared at her father. He was _not_ going to stop her, she had a promise to keep and _nobody_ was getting in her way. She quickly got into a fighting stance although it was a little weird while carrying clothes. Her father's brows knitted together.

"I love the spirit, but what makes you think you can surpass me in combat?" he asked.

Yoruichi simply clicked her tongue, but she also knew that she would definitely lose a fight with her father especially since she was put at a disadvantage due to the clothes she was carrying.

_Damn, not good._

Suddenly Yoruichi remembered something. She reached under the clothes and felt for her wrist. Her eyes never went off her father.

"Sorry father, but this is something I must do," she said.

Her hand was a blur as she threw a bracelet off that was on her wrist. It flew up to the man's face and exploded into a bellow of smoke causing the man to cough. Yoruichi took the opportunity to shunpo out of there. She gave a mental note to thank Kisuke for the bracelet. She remembered the words of the note he had tucked behind the bracelet.

_**Throw this forward if you are in any danger and then the magic will happen.**_

_** -Kisuke**_

Yoruichi smiled as she continued to shunpo away while slipping right past the guards once again with her clothes in hand.

* * *

Byakuya stood at the meeting place waiting with his pile of clothes in a bag he had packed. It was slung over her shoulder as he awaited the arrival of his Shihoin counter part.

_What is taking her?_

Just as the thought came through, the girl of the hour appeared before him. Byakuya let out the breath he was holding as covertly as possible before he threw her a smirk.

"Took you long enough," he chortled.

Yoruichi simply stuck her tongue out and pushed through the door with Byakuya right behind her. Once out of Seireitei, they shunpo'd off towards the hut.

* * *

When the nobles arrived, they saw all of the kids sitting around Rukia. Yoruichi's breath hitched hoping that they weren't too late. Her fears were unfounded when Kisuke turned around and then smirked.

"So, you got our 'disguises?" he asked.

The two nobles nodded and presented the clothes they had taken. The Rukongai children immediately started changing. Momo and Yoruichi helped Rukia with hers, as she was too weak to really do it herself.

"So, how do we look?" asked Renji.

Rukia and Momo wore the fine silk clothes that Yoruichi's father had bought her while Ichigo, Kisuke, and Renji wore the same training outfits as Byakuya. Yoruichi put a hand on her chin and hummed.

"Yeah I think this will do, now remember, let us do the talking," said Yoruichi.

There were nods from the others. Renji picked up Rukia bridal style and the group of children set off towards the gate on foot. The whole time they were walking, they received odd looks from all the citizens of Rukongai as their nicer wear made them stick out like a sore thumb. There were a couple of times were a few brave idiots tried to attack them, but a hard look from Ichigo sent them packing. Yoruichi made a mental note never to get on Ichigo's bad side. When they finally made it to the gate, the sun was starting to make its descent. As they approached, Yoruichi kept a keen eye out for the gatekeeper of this gate.

_Okay this is the West Gate so the gatekeeper must be…_

Suddenly a shadow cast over the group causing them all to look up and saw a huge shape standing on the door. Yoruichi paled.

_Jidanbo Ikkanzaka._

Jidanbo stared down at the group of kids with a glare.

"No one from Rukongai is allowed past the gate to Seireitei," he said, his voice booming out.

Yoruichi fumbled for words to say, but couldn't find anything and she could tell that Byakuya was having the same plight. While she had everything planned in her head, no amount of preparation could really prepare you for an actual confrontation with one of the Gatekeepers of Seireitei, honestly she thought that he wouldn't be there like before, but then again she was also alone. Yoruichi was about to say something when suddenly Ichigo stepped forward.

"We apologize good sir, but we actually came out here in order to fulfill a final request," said Ichigo.

"Oh? Well I certainly didn't see you come out this way," said Jidanbo.

"We came out the South Gate," Ichigo stated smoothly, "Our friend here is close to death and she wanted to see what it was like outside the walls before she… she…"

Suddenly Ichigo's face fell, as did the faces of the others. Yoruichi and Byakuya stood to the side in awe. Jidanbo's eyes widened.

"N-now wait a moment, I can't just-," he started, but then Rukia decided to throw in her two cents.

"Mama? Mama… the world was beautiful… it was so beautiful mama…" whispered Rukia as if she were dying.

The gatekeeper's eyes widened even more. The final nail in the coffin was when Renji looked up at him with tears running down his face.

"How can you be so cruel? Gatekeeper-san?" he asked.

"Alright, alright! Go through quickly," said Jidanbo before disappearing from sight.

Ichigo smirked back at the two gawking nobles.

"Nothing to it," he said.

Renji smirked at Kisuke.

"Those fake tears worked like a charm, Kisuke," he said.

Kisuke simply grinned broadly.

"Well, let's go through," Momo said.

The rest of the group agreed walked through the gate with Yoruichi and Byakuya walking behind still kind of awestruck about what they had just witnessed.

_What the hell does this say about the security of our city if a bunch of kids off the street can guilt one of the great gatekeepers into allowing them past?_

Yoruichi looked at the group of kids in front of her as they walked into Seireitei with a sinking feeling that the were a lot more than just a group of little kids. Especially their carrot top leader.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"So where is this friend of yours?" asked Ichigo.

The group of kids was walking down the streets of Seireitei, which were a lot emptier than the dirt paths of Rukongai.

"You'll see, just follow my lead," said Yoruichi.

"If I may ask, how will your friend cure this sickness?" asked Kisuke in curiosity.

"She is very talented in the ways of Kido especially when it comes to barriers and learned a way to heal others with barriers," explained Byakuya.

"I'm sure that she can help Rukia get better in no time," assured Yoruichi.

Ichigo seemed satisfied with the answer and looked back ahead. Byakuya looked down at Rukia who was now asleep due to fatigue. He just couldn't get around the similarity that this girl had to his betrothed. He looked at the road ahead lost in his thoughts. Suddenly Yoruichi stopped almost causing the rest to crash into her.

"What is it?" asked Byakuya.

"We've got company," stated Yoruichi gritting her teeth.

Suddenly a bunch of men in ninja attire appeared around the group of kids.

"Yoruichi Shihoin," stated the leader of the group, "You are hereby under house arrest by order of the Head."

Yoruichi glared at them.

_Shit, my I figured my dad would have a response ready, but I never figured they would find me so fast and I wasn't counting on this high a number!_

"Friends of yours?" asked Renji casually with a bored expression on his face.

Yoruichi glared behind her at the red-head in irritation at his aloofness of the whole situation that they found themselves in. It seemed to be a trap all along and if Yoruichi couldn't do something to talk them away, her newfound friends would take the brunt of the blow.

"Listen," whispered Yoruichi to Renji, "These guys won't be as lenient as the gatekeeper, they will _kill_ you if you so much as look at them the wrong way."

"Eh, how bad can they be?" asked Renji without being affected by Yoruichi's warning.

Byakuya stared back as well looking completely aghast at the boy's stupidity. In fact, the whole group of Rukongai children had little to no fear in their eyes as they looked upon the clearly superior force before them.

"Yoruichi," said Ichigo.

Yoruichi turned to him only to find Rukia in her arms a second later. She stared down at the sleeping girl and looked back up at Ichigo.

"Wha-?" she started.

"I need you get her to your friend, we'll hold these guys off," said Ichigo.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Ichigo, these aren't Rukongai thugs, these are trained warriors of the Shihoin Clan!" exclaimed Yoruichi.

"Your point?" asked Renji with a grin.

Yoruichi stared at him aghast.

"Yoruichi," stated Ichigo bringing her attention back to him, "I need you to get Rukia cured before it's too late."

Yoruichi could only nod at Ichigo's serious expression. Ichigo turned to Kisuke.

"Go with her, I know you have some tricks up your sleeve to get you two out of here," said Ichigo.

Kisuke only grinned before standing beside Yoruichi. Ichigo turned to Byakuya.

"You should go too," said Ichigo.

Byakuya however stood his ground.

"No, I shall help you hold the Shihoin Clan back," he said with a determined look.

Ichigo lifted a brow.

"Are you sure? You do realize that if any one of these people recognize you, you'll most likely be hunted as a wanted criminal," said Ichigo.

Byakuya simply took out his training sword and held it in a fighting position. Ichigo looked at Byakuya up and down before sighing and turning towards the surrounding soldiers.

"All right, on my go, shunpo out of here," said Ichigo.

Yoruichi blinked and turned to Kisuke who didn't answer. She looked back at Ichigo… and gasped when she suddenly saw a huge blade hanging on his back. He pulled it out and held it at his side. She looked at Momo and Renji to see them pulling out swords out of sheaths. Byakuya seemed just as surprised, but he immediately shook his head and glared at the enemy.

_Where the hell did those come from?_

Yoruichi turned back to Kisuke, but he made no move to draw a sword. Ichigo turned his head a bit.

"Ready?" he asked.

Yoruichi looked at all the soldiers drawing their swords. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder she turned to see Kisuke smiling at her. She shook her head of any negative thoughts and nodded to Ichigo.

"Good," he said before turning back to the surrounding soldiers.

There was a moment of silence as the two sides faced off. The soldiers surrounding them looked rather unsettled that a group of children were preparing to do battle with them, some of the fastest _adult_ soldiers in their class and proficient fighters to boot.

"It is no use fighting back, put the weapons down," said the leader with a smug tone of voice.

Ichigo's response was something the leader was not expecting.

"Hado #31! Shakkaho!" he, Renji, and Momo shouted bringing their hands up.

Three balls of red flame burst from their hands and slammed into their respective targets causing three huge explosions. At the same time Kisuke grabbed Yoruichi and they both shunpo'd off. Yoruichi continued to shunpo, but thoughts of the powerful Kido pressed her mind. After they were a safe distance, Yoruichi turned her head towards Kisuke who was right beside her.

"How were they able to learn such a powerful Kido without incantation?" asked Yoruichi.

"Incantation?" asked Kisuke.

"Yes… the thing you say before the spell," said Yoruichi.

"Incantation… incantation…" muttered Kisuke looking at the sky in thought.

Yoruichi sweat dropped.

_These guys learned Kido spells… without learning the incantations? Just who are they?_

"Who taught you how to use Kido?" asked Yoruichi.

"Me? Ichigo taught me," said Kisuke, "He also taught the others."

_Ichigo taught the others Kido?_

Yoruichi thought back to when Ichigo stopped the club with his hand not looking at all strained.

_He must be powerful._

Yoruichi shook her head and looked down at Rukia.

_Enough, I can't let Ichigo down; I have to get Rukia the help she needs and fast._

With that Yoruichi took off towards her destination with Kisuke right behind her.

_Please be home._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Kisuke and Yoruichi arrived at a rather downgraded house that paled in comparison to the huge mansions that the two had passed by.

"This is it?" asked Kisuke.

Yoruichi nodded and handed Rukia to Kisuke before heading to the door and knocking.

"Just a minute!" came a cheerful voice from inside.

After a bit, the door opened to reveal a girl of the same age as the rest of them with long orange hair and big grey eyes. She was currently wearing a simple kimono with an apron on top. Her eyes immediately brightened upon seeing Yoruichi.

"Yoruichi-san!" she said with a smile, "What a pleasant surprise!"

Yoruichi smiled back at her.

"Yo Orihime, long time no see," she said.

Orihime smiled, but then it fell when her eyes fell upon Rukia in Kisuke's arms.

"Oh… did Hisana get sick again?" asked Orihime walking out to inspect Rukia.

Yoruichi opened her mouth, but then stopped herself wondering if I would be okay to trust Orihime with this information.

"Uh, we haven't met, I'm Kisuke Urahara," said Kisuke.

"Oh, I'm Orihime Inoue, nice to meet you," Orihime answered brightly.

She then took on a serious expression when she looked upon Rukia once again.

"Strange… I don't know why, but there's something different with Hisana this time…" she mused.

"Well that's because she's not Hisana, she's Rukia, Rukia Hashi," stated Kisuke.

"Oh so she's a completely different person, but enough talk she needs help, come inside and place her on the bed," she said beckoning them inside the house.

The interior was a simple one-room living space with a bed at the corner, a memorial with a picture on it, and a small kitchen at the other side. Yoruichi and Byakuya knew the story behind the memorial. The picture was of Orihime's long dead brother who was the one who raised her until three years ago. Ever since then she lived alone. Yoruichi and Byakuya made sure to visit her as much as possible as she was a good friend.

"Right here?" called Kisuke.

"Yes," said Orihime waiting for Kisuke to place Rukia down before proceeding.

She put her hands just above Rukia's body and closed her eyes. Suddenly a golden shield encased Rukia. Kisuke's eyes widened in amazement, but he kept his silence in order to not disturb the girl's work. Orihime stood there for a while before finally lowering her hands and opening her eyes. When the shield disappeared, Rukia opened her eyes slowly and got up.

"I feel… great…" she said in awe before looking up at Orihime, "Thank you."

Orihime waved her hands in front of her with a smile.

"No, no it was no problem at all!" she said.

Suddenly Kisuke ran up and swung Rukia around.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright, Rukia!" he yelled.

"Gah! Let go of me! Baka!" Rukia cried.

"Gomen," said Kisuke as he put her down, but still had a smile on his face.

Rukia steadied herself before throwing Kisuke a mock glare and then looking around.

"Where are the others?"

Yoruichi's face immediately fell.

"They… stayed back at held back men that came after me," she muttered.

To Yoruichi's surprise, Rukia started laughing.

"Just like them to start the party without me," said Rukia before putting a hand on her hip, "Well, shall we help them?"

"Hai!" shouted Kisuke eagerly.

Orihime smiled until suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped. She quickly threw her arms out to her sides and a large barrier surrounded the four of them just as the whole house exploded.

"Whoa!" cried Kisuke as he and the other children jumped backwards, startled.

When the smoke finally cleared, Yoruichi's heart leapt to her throat when she saw who it was that caused the explosion. Surrounding the remains of the house was even more members of the Shihoin clan.

"You are only making it harder on yourself Yoruichi Shihoin," growled one of them.

_Did the others lose?_

Orihime lowered her barrier and lowered her head. Yoruichi growled at their heartlessness.

"What the hell is your problem?!" growled Kisuke, "You just destroyed her home!"

"It makes no difference since she is to be placed in prison for harboring a criminal," said one of the men.

"What?! She was healing my friend!" shouted Kisuke.

Yoruichi however stared at the floor in shame.

_Damn it… I led them to Orihime's home and how I've gotten her in trouble and everyone else is going to die… I can't…_

Suddenly she felt a soft hand on her shoulder and looked up to see that it was Orihime's hand.

"Orihime?" asked Yoruichi.

Orihime smiled kindly at her before turning to the soldiers. Her smile immediately fell away.

"I normally do not like violence, but you have destroyed that which is precious to me and also tried to harm my friends," she said.

Yoruichi suddenly felt a high amount of reitsu coming from Inoue so much to the point where she was having trouble breathing. The soldiers surrounding them seemed to have the same plight while Kisuke and Rukia seemed unaffected.

"For this…" she said staring at the leader, "I cannot forgive you."

Suddenly a sword appeared in her hand.

"Reject all reality, Shun Shun Rikka."

Suddenly the sword glowed golden temporarily blinding Yoruichi. When the light faded, the sword changed from a simple katana to a crystalized long sword with the handle surrounded by floating crystals. The middle held a golden ball of energy that twinkled like a star. Orihime stared at the soldiers with small frown that was extremely rare for the ever-smiling girl.

"I will give one chance to turn around and run, therefore live," said Orihime.

The soldiers shivered at the very power of her voice, but didn't concede they simply drew their swords. Orihime closed her eyes.

"Very well," she said before bringing her sword up in front of her face with a flat side facing her.

"Koten Zanshun."

Right as she spoke she opened her eyes and twisted the sword so that one of the edged sides were facing her. There was a flash of light and then silence. Yoruichi looked around at the soldiers who all seemed frozen. She blinked and looked at Orihime wondering what exactly happened.

"Impressive," said Kisuke while motioning for Yoruichi to look back at the bodies.

Suddenly every one of the soldiers fell in two halves. Yoruichi's eyes widened… and she also gagged a bit at the graphic display.

"Koten Zanshun, Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield," explained Orihime as her sword slowly turned back into its dormant katana form, "Shun Shun Rikka creates a shield within my enemies that cuts them in half."

Yoruichi's eyes widened and looked back at the bodies… well half bodies.

"Does it create the shields within its foes?" asked Yoruichi.

"No, you probably didn't see it, but when Inoue-san twisted her sword, one of the crystals shot out away from its orbit and sliced into each and every one of the soldiers creating the shield every time it passed through," said Kisuke suddenly with a green striped hat on head and a white fan in front of his mouth.

Yoruichi blinked.

"Eh… what are you wearing?" she asked.

Kisuke smiled before taking off the hat and presenting it with the fan to Inoue.

"Inoue-san here is your brother's fan and hat," he said.

Orihime's eyes sparkled as she took both items and looked over them fondly. She then looked back at Kisuke who looked at her with a smile. She then put the hat back on Kisuke's head earning an odd look from Kisuke.

"I think you should keep Hatty-chan and Fan-Fan-kun, it looks like they seem to be taking a liking to you," said Orihime taking Kisuke's hand and placing the fan in it.

Kisuke stared at the fan and then back Inoue before smiling. He held the closed fan in front of his face and held a hand behind his back and bowed.

"I shall treasure these gifts," he said before straightening up and opening the fan to fan his face.

"Gifts that will make him look like more of a fool," said Rukia with her arms crossed.

"Aw… Rukia-chan is so mean," Kisuke said in mock sadness.

"Well it's true Kisuke, you can't deny what Rukia said."

The four looked to the source to see Ichigo, Renji, Momo, and Byakuya all standing there with smiles on their faces… well Byakuya was looking at Orihime in awe. Yoruichi sighed in relief at their arrival, although she couldn't help but feel a bit more awed at the fact that her entire clan was beaten back by the four of them.

"You… did this?" asked Byakuya gesturing around at the bodies.

Orihime smiled slightly as she sheathed her katana.

"Indeed I did," she stated.

Renji whistled.

"Damn… remind me never to piss you off," he said.

"Well a girl always needs to know how to defend herself?" asked Orihime with a giggle that seemed to warm everybody's spirits... yet at the same time chill them to the bone.

"Uh… yeah," said Yoruichi while shivering slightly.

Ichigo shook his head then turned to Rukia with a small grin.

"Yo, Rukia glad to see you on your feet," he said.

Rukia smirked at him before turning to Renji.

"Took you long enough to get here, baka," said Rukia with a smile.

"Traffic was crazy," said Renji with a shrug.

Momo simply ran up and hugged Rukia who hugged her back.

"So…" said Kisuke gaining everybody's attention, "What now?"

* * *

From afar, a shadowy figure dressed in all black ninja wear with a black katana on his back watched the group of kids converse with narrowed eyes.

_Now isn't this an interesting turn of events. From what I've just witnessed, these kids are strong enough to take out a quarter of Seireitei's forces by themselves before being overrun._

Suddenly the ninja sensed a presence behind him, but didn't turn around as he knew who it was.

"What are ya doing skulking around here?" asked a sultry female voice.

"I am observing a possible threat," stated the ninja simply before turning to his companion.

The companion in question was a woman with long blonde hair, tight leather pants and equally tight leather shirt that completely exposed her midriff and a generous portion of her breasts. At her side she wore a simple katana. The woman looked down at the kids before rolling her eyes.

"You're seriously considering a bunch of kids a threat?" asked the woman with a yawn, "They look barely in their teens."

"Those kids just took out the entire Shihoin clan without breaking a sweat," said the ninja.

The woman shrugged.

"Whatever, those arrogant pricks are nothing compared to the power we have," she said before turning around, "Oh and before I forget, the big boss called a meeting."

With that the woman disappeared with a shunpo. The ninja focused his attention back to a certain boy with bright orange hair. His eyes narrowed.

"So… after all this time it seems that fate demands that we meet again…" he muttered.

The ninja turned around and made to follow the woman, but stopped and turned his head to look upon the boy one last time.

_I will be waiting for the day we clash swords once again… boy._

With that he disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Yoruichi stared at the ground as the group walked around aimlessly in the streets of Seireitei. She was now considered a criminal to one of the most powerful clans in Soul Society and that puts all of her newfound friends in danger. Hell, she was even worried for Byakuya's safety. Yet, every time that she tried to say that they should separate, Ichigo would stubbornly refuse repeatedly saying that they were in this together. So here they were, wandering Seireitei hoping to find some sort of safe haven where they could crash for the night. Byakuya suggested that they head over to a secret compound that only he and Hisana knew about where they could hide so that's where they were headed. The problem was that Byakuya was trying to remember exactly where the compound was in the city causing the group to try thinking of other ideas. Kisuke mentioned heading back to Rukongai, but Ichigo wanted to avoid that if possible due to the harsh environment there. Sleeping the streets wasn't an option for there were night patrols of the Great Guardian Core under the Central 46, which consisted of all trained Shinigami and was headed by the strongest known Shinigami. It was a bad situation all around.

"Yoruichi-chan?"

Yoruichi looked up to see Orihime looking back at her with a look of concern on her face. Yoruichi immediately put a smile on her face.

"What's up, Orihime?" asked Yoruichi.

Orihime gave Yoruichi knowing smile.

"You can't keep beating yourself up for what happened, we all knew the consequences and we're all here to help," she said.

Yoruichi smiled ebbed a bit, but she just shook her head to cover it and waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah I know that, don't worry about it we're in this together and all that jazz," she said.

Orihime just sniffed in humor before turning back around. As soon as she did, Yoruichi went back into a gloomy state.

"You do realize that everybody knows that you're acting like this, right?"

Yoruichi almost yelped when she saw Kisuke right next to her with the fan over his mouth and the hat shadowing his eyes. She quickly recovered and faced the other way.

"Hmph," she grunted.

Kisuke looked at her from behind his fan before sighing and closing it with a snap.

"You can't get caught up on what could have been, Yoruichi-san," he said, "The past is past."

Yoruichi didn't answer she simply continued to look the other way. Kisuke sighed and simply walked along side her in silence. Up ahead the group could hear Byakuya muttering to himself as he tried to remember the exact location of the compound. Ichigo had his arms crossed with a hard scowl on his face trying to figure out any other good hiding spots and Renji had his hands behind the back of his head while throwing snide comments towards Byakuya.

"Man, all this walking is a pain, are you sure you know where you are going?" asked Renji.

"Of course I do and I'm sure this is the building!" said Byakuya.

"Uh-huh like you said about the five other buildings we spent half an hour orbiting before you finally realized it wasn't it," stated Renji off-handedly.

"Uruse!" Byakuya growled.

Renji simply chuckled and looked up at the sky only to see that the sun was slowly starting to take an orange tinge as it neared the horizon. His smile ebbed a bit.

"Looks like we're running out of time," he said.

Ichigo looked up as well and sighed.

"And I can't really think of any place safer than Byakuya's compound… if it exists," he muttered.

"It exists," insisted Byakuya.

"Well then you'd better find it before the sun sets else we'll all be behind bars or dead," said Renji sarcastically, "No pressure!"

Byakuya felt a vein pop in his forehead as he rounded on Renji with a glare.

"Uruse! You are distracting me!" he roared.

"Well you haven't exactly had better results while I actually held my tongue," said Renji.

"Well maybe if you'd just be quite a bit longer I'll be able to find it!" growled the young Kuchiki.

"Sure and if I hold my breath for long enough I'll start floating in the air," said Renji offhandedly.

"You… wait what?"

"Children, please," said Ichigo trying to keep the peace.

Everyone else watched the whole ordeal with sweat drops.

"Matagu," said Rukia holding her head, "He really doesn't know when to shut his mouth does he?"

Kisuke simply started to giggle behind his fan while Yoruichi and Inoue looked at one another. Momo leaned against a wall in exasperation… or at least that was the plan until the wall caved in causing her to fall inside.

"Wah!" she cried.

Everyone immediately turned at her cry.

"Momo!" exclaimed Ichigo immediately taking a serious expression and running to the open doorway.

There they found Momo rubbing her back.

"Eta…" she whimpered.

"Momo, you okay?" asked Ichigo in concern as he helped her to her feet.

Momo nodded before looking down the hall, which seemed dark. Suddenly Byakuya pushed in front of Ichigo and Momo.

"This is it, the secret compound follow me," he said proceeding down the hallway.

The others followed close behind. Being the last one in, Renji closed the door behind them causing everything to go black for a little bit, but suddenly the torches that lined the walls lit up with flame brightening the place. The group proceeded down the steps until they reached another darkened corridor. As soon as Byakuya entered, a sudden lighting of flames revealed a gaping huge chamber.

"This is it," said Byakuya.

The group stood in awe at the sheer size of the huge hall.

"Wow… did the Kuchiki clan build this?" asked Ichigo.

"No, I found it while exploring with Hisana," said Byakuya, "It became our secret hiding place when we didn't want do deal with politics."

Yoruichi lifted a brow at that.

"Oh? And who was the one who didn't enjoy politics?" she teased.

Byakuya smirked back.

"Hisana," he said before looking back at the room, "She hates the policies of the nobles as much as you do and she also calls me a stiff sometimes and I would always say that I do it to honor my clan…"

Byakuya lowered his eyes.

"I wonder what she thinks of me now?" he muttered.

Yoruichi lowered her eyes a bit as well on that.

"Um… if you don't mind me asking… who is Hisana?" asked Momo.

"She's Byakuya's bride to be in order to strengthen political bonds between their respective clans," stated Orihime before Byakuya or Yoruichi could open their mouths.

"I believe you mentioned her name when you mistook Rukia for her right?" asked Kisuke.

"Yes, I treated Hisana for the same illness and since Rukia looked so similar to her, I simply assumed for a bit," said Orihime.

Rukia seemed to be intrigued by this.

"So this Hisana holds some resemblance to me?" asked Rukia.

Orihime looked back at her.

"Exactly the same… like twins," she stated.

Byakuya smiled.

"I think she would have loved to meet you," he stated.

"Indeed I do."

The group turned to the other side of the room to see four figures standing there. One was a small girl that looked exactly like Rukia purple eyes, black hair, and all, but the only difference was that she had more of a softer look to her rather than Rukia's harder look. The second was a boy with darker skin, black hair and purple eyes. The third had silver hair and green eyes with a foxlike grin. The last figure was man that was much older then all of the children. He had a black tuft going down the back of his head with the top of his head bald and a clean-cut goatee with piercing red orbs. All four of them wore the black shihakusho of Shinigami.

"Hisana?!" exclaimed Byakuya in shock.

Hisana gave a Byakuya a small smile before looking at Rukia who looked back gaping at the fact that an almost literal copy of her was standing at the opposite side of the room. Ichigo stepped forward earning looks from all of his comrades.

"Fancy seeing you around these parts, Sensei," he said.

The man looked at Ichigo for the longest time before smirking.

"Hmph, you certainly have done well for yourself, my young pupil," said the man.

Rukia's eyes suddenly widened when she realized the implications of the little spat between Ichigo and the man.

"Ichigo, is this…?" asked Rukia although already knowing the answer.

Ichigo didn't take his eyes off the man in front of him as he answered.

"He is the Shinigami that taught me everything that I know," said Ichigo.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**7 years ago…**

Ichigo groggily opened his eyes and stared at the scenery around him. Rows of rotting wooden houses and groups of people in rags lying on the streets met his young eyes.

"Where am I?" he muttered.

He slowly and shakily got to his feet and started to wander about. He really didn't remember what had happened before he got here, he only knew that he was… well here. He also knew that his name was Ichigo Kurosaki. Anything else was lost to him. He continued to wander when suddenly he heard commotion coming from around the corner. He didn't know why, but he ran towards it and what met his eyes when he rounded the bend caused him to stop short. Standing there with their swords drawn were two kids about his age clashing with one another. A girl with white hair that went down to her waist traded blows with her opponent who had a feral smile on his face. They continued to clash back and forth without any remorse. Ichigo could feel some sort of strange energy coming from them, but he had no time to think, he had to stop this madness before anybody got hurt. Without much thought, he charged right into the thick of the battle.

"Stop!" he shouted throwing his body in between the two.

The white haired girl's eyes widened at Ichigo's appearance and she stopped her charge, but the other boy simply kept coming.

"You're in the way!" he shouted while laughing.

Ichigo didn't move at all, instead he instinctively reached behind his back and grabbed something that was on his back. It felt natural, Ichigo swung the huge claymore of a sword from his back and batted away the other boy's attack like nothing. Ichigo then held the sword at his side with two hands and stared at it. The sword was at least double Ichigo's body length if not more. It was a wonder that he could wield it.

_Where did this come from?_

"Haha! You're powerful! This is gonna be fun!"

Ichigo barely had time to lift his blade in front of him to block the boy's assault. Ichigo clenched his teeth at the raw power this boy displayed.

"Enough of this! People will get hurt!" shouted Ichigo.

"I don't care!" shouted the boy.

Ichigo clicked his tongue and bashed the boy back before glaring at him.

"What kind of answer is that?" growled Ichigo, "Only a beast slashes around without any care of those around him!"

The boy smirked.

"So what? I only care about fighting!" he roared charging again.

Ichigo felt anger build up within him he then swung his sword in an arch and a huge arch of energy flew at the boy who threw his sword in front of him. There was an explosion and the boy was sent flying back into one of the buildings, which collapsed upon impact. Ichigo stared at what he just did.

_How did I do that?_

"W-what was that?"

Ichigo turned to look at the white haired girl who was gaping at his sword.

"I don't know… I just did it…" muttered Ichigo.

Suddenly a tower of energy erupted form the collapsed building sending debris and dust everywhere. The white haired girl and Ichigo were both forced to cover their faces. Ichigo peaked from behind his arm and saw that it was the boy causing the eruption and he was… _laughing_.

"HAHAHAHA! Now _this_ is definitely going to be fun!" the boy shouted maniacally.

Ichigo growled and held his sword in front of him again when suddenly he saw a sword raised beside him. He looked to see that the white haired girl was standing beside him with her sword at the ready.

"I shall fight along side you, maybe together we can stop this beast's rampage," she stated.

Ichigo looked at her before nodding gratefully. Together they faced off the powerful lunatic before them. He was still laughing.

"What is your name?" asked Ichigo.

"Jushiro Ukitake," answer the white haired girl, "Yours?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," said Ichigo.

Suddenly the boy charged forward still laughing.

"Then let's do this… Ichigo," said Jushiro.

"Hmm," answered Ichigo before they too charged forward.

Steel clashed with steel as the Ichigo and Jushiro slammed down on the boy's sword. They were thrown backward by the sheer power the boy displayed.

_Damn, this guy is strong._

Ichigo slid backwards using his sword to stop him from crashing into the building behind him. Jushiro was on the other side of the road. Ichigo gritted his teeth before charging again and slamming his sword into the boy's making sure to get as much energy into it. The boy actually staggered a bit at Ichigo's hit. Ichigo didn't stop as he spun his gigantic sword around for another hit and then spun again to hit.

"Jushiro!" Ichigo shouted as he kept hitting.

Suddenly Jushiro appeared from behind the boy and slammed her sword down on the boy's back. Both Jushiro and Ichigo were surprised when her sword didn't do as much as knick the boy's skin.

"Is that all you've got?" growled the boy smacking away Ichigo and rounding on Jushiro.

Ichigo was sent sailing across the sky before he did a flip and landed on the floor… extremely far away from the battle.

_Shit! Hang in there, Jushiro!_

Ichigo quickly started to run towards the battle glaring at the fact that he was so far away.

_Gotta go faster! Gotta go faster!_

Ichigo glared deeply as he ran as hard as he could towards the battle.

_C'mon! C'mon!_

Ichigo caught a flash as Jushiro was disarmed.

_No!_

Ichigo couldn't comprehend what happened next, but one moment he was miles away from the battle and the next he was suddenly right in front of the boy blocking his strike against Jushiro. Ichigo pushed the boy back causing to stagger a bit.

"You alright?" Ichigo called behind him.

"Yes," came the reply.

Jushiro slowly stood and took her spot beside Ichigo. Ichigo spotted Jushiro's sword behind the boy.

"Shit, that's going to be hard to recover," lamented Ichigo.

Jushiro simply sniffed earning a look from Ichigo.

"I don't need a weapon to continue fighting," Jushiro exclaimed before charging at the boy.

The boy charged and swung his sword at the white head. Jushiro ducked under the blow and thrust her elbow out into the boy's stomach causing him to stop short. Then Jushiro clenched the hand farthest away from the boy into a fist and threw it into the boy's chin as a powerful uppercut sending the boy flying high in the air. He came crashing down on another building. Jushiro walked over to her sword and picked it up from the ground.

"Nothing to it," she said holding her sword at her side.

Ichigo grinned.

"Heh, you should have done the whole fight without your sword," said Ichigo walking up to Jushiro.

Suddenly the house in front of them exploded causing the two children to fly backwards. They looked from their prone positions to see that it was the boy yet again.

"Damn it, this guy is stubborn," growled Ichigo.

Jushiro simply hummed. The boy raised his sword over his head over his head and roared ready to charge again.

"Bakudo #63. Sajo Sabaku."

Suddenly a golden glowing chain appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the boy and tightened around his arms rendering him immobile. He kicked and squirmed while shouting until a figure appeared behind him and placed his hand over his face.

"Bakudo #29. Inemuri."

Suddenly the boy slumped forward and the chains disappeared the figure caught the boy before he hit the floor.

"Yare, yare, you kids have created quiet a mess," he said getting up and slinging the boy over his shoulder.

Jushiro and Ichigo stared up at the man with wide eyes.

"Such poor control of your reiatsu, yet you hold so much potential…" the man stated deep in thought.

"W-who are you?" asked Ichigo.

The man looked down at Ichigo with commanding yet caring eyes.

"I am Genryusai Yamamoto."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**5 weeks later…**

"Hado #31! Shakkaho!"

An explosion echoed across the streets of Rukongai and on top of secluded plateau a bellow of smoke erupted. Ichigo stared at the destruction he created with wide eyes.

"Hmm… already using level 30 Hado spells without incantation? Impressive."

Ichigo turned around and bowed to his new master.

"Thank you master!" he stated

Ichigo looked up to see the smiling face of his sensei.

"Perhaps you can teach your friend Jushiro a thing or two about it, hmm?" said Genryusai looking to his right.

Ichigo followed his gaze to find poor Jushiro hopping up and down holding her finger after zapping herself trying to use the Hado #4 spell. Ichigo had a sweat drop at the back of his head.

"She's still trying to figure it out?" asked Ichigo.

"Well she's actually taking the normal speed that a student would learn Kido," said Genryusai before turning back to Ichigo, "But enough of that, show me your Bakudo."

Genryusai suddenly shunpo'd away and came back with a pile of sticks.

"Bind these sticks together using any Bakudo spell you wish," he said.

Ichigo nodded before pointing his index and middle fingers at the sticks.

"Bakudo #9! Horin!" he shouted.

A yellow/orange lighting bolt shot out of his fingers and at the sticks. It wrapped around the sticks. He then yanked towards him causing the bundle to fly up and into his hand. There sat a perfectly clean stack of sticks with the Horin spell wrapped around it. Genryusai nodded.

"Good," he said before looking back at Jushiro.

Ichigo looked as well and face-faulted when he saw that Jushiro had somehow managed to get the Sai spell to backfire leaving her in a bent down position with her hands behind her back.

"Well…" said Genryusai scratching his beard, "On to the next subject."

* * *

**3 months later…**

Ichigo and Jushiro faced off once again in another unarmed spar. So far Jushiro had won almost every single spar with her natural grace at Hakuda. Ichigo was powerful as well, but he just couldn't match up to Jushiro's skill always ended up losing. But with each spar, he started to develop another skill: Hoho, the Shinigami skill used to speed around opponents. Ichigo remembered using it by accident to protect Jushiro from the crazy boy's attack. Since then Ichigo practiced while Genryusai worked with Jushiro on Kido, and now he was confidant enough to use it during this sparring match.

"Your ready Ichigo?" asked Jushiro taking a fighting stance.

Ichigo simply took a fighting stance with a confident smile.

"And begin," said Genryusai.

Jushiro flew forward with her hand at the ready to smack Ichigo around again. Ichigo stood where he was waiting for the right moment. Right as Jushiro was about to punch Ichigo's face, time slowed. Ichigo moved normal speed jabbing certain points around Jushiro's body that didn't seem to move at all. When Ichigo was done, he faced Jushiro's back. Suddenly time sped up again and Jushiro stood there as if frozen. She then fell over.

"I didn't even see you move…" she gasped.

Ichigo smiled.

"I hit vital points that render your body immobile for a short time, don't worry, it will fade after five minutes," he said.

"Again you do not fail to impress, Kurosaki," said Genryusai, "Although I must ask, why did you not use Shunpo before?"

Ichigo smiled sheepishly and rubbed the base of his neck.

"Well I hadn't really gotten the hang of it the other times," he said.

When Jushiro was able to move again, she shot straight back up and faced Ichigo.

"I wish for a rematch," she declared.

Genryusai nodded.

"Very well," he said, "Begin."

Jushiro stepped in for a side approach, but this time she seemed to disappear, but Ichigo saw every step she took and dodged Jushiro's punch and perched himself on top of Jushiro's arm with a smirk on his face. Jushiro tried to use her other arm to bat Ichigo off, but Ichigo disappeared and appeared behind her.

"Well Jushiro, you sure held back on me those other times, I had no idea you could do that," said Ichigo.

Jushiro spun and jabbed at Ichigo's neck only to hit air. Jushiro looked left and right, but couldn't find the orange haired boy anywhere.

"Ahem."

Jushiro froze and slowly looked up and saw Ichigo standing on air with his arms crossed.

"Yo, Jushiro," said Ichigo, "How's the weather down there?"

Jushiro smirked and disappeared and reappeared behind Ichigo.

"You aren't the only one who can stand on the air, Ichigo," she said.

Ichigo smirked.

"I know."

Jushiro's eyes widened. The voice had come from behind him, but Ichigo was in front of him.

_How?_

Jushiro shook her head.

_No it's a trick._

Jushiro punched at Ichigo… only to have her fist fly right through Ichigo. The momentum of the punch caused her body to twirl… so she could see Ichigo's foot right before it connected with her chin sending her flying into the ground and then tumbling a few more yards. When she finally stopped, she lay there defeated. Ichigo appeared at her side in seconds.

"Sorry about that, Jushiro," said Ichigo with a smirk.

Jushiro gave Ichigo a weak smile back as Ichigo put Jushiro's arm around his shoulders.

"You really have improved a lot, Ichigo," she said.

Ichigo carried Jushiro effortlessly over to a grassy patch where he gently set Jushiro down. Genryusai then appeared next to Jushiro.

"I will heal Ukitake, take a break, Kurosaki," said Genryusai.

Ichigo bowed before he shunpo'd a higher plateau nearby and stood there staring at the sky. He smiled as he felt the winds brush against his face. Suddenly a thought came to mind and he lowered his head.

* * *

The insane boy sat near the remains of his battle with Ichigo and Jushiro. It was a boring three months with nobody strong enough to give him at least a sliver of exhilaration.

_Why did that fight have to end? When I was having so much fun too!_

The boy groaned before he stood up in order to wander some more in hopes of fighting a worthy opponent, but a certain presence stopped him in his tracks. He turned his head and grinned widely when he saw a familiar figure standing there with his arms crossed and his sword behind his back.

"Oh? Are you here for another match?" asked the boy eagerly with a wide smile on his face.

"…What is your name?"

The boy furrowed his brows at the question, bloodlust temporarily forgotten.

"I don't have one, why?" he growled.

A pair of brown orbs bore into him before an answer came.

"To answer you first question, no, I am not here to fight you…"

The boy felt frustration building up inside him as he gripped his sword tightly about ready to leave the other boy no choice, but the next thing that was said stopped him.

"…but I know somebody that might."

The boy stared blankly for a while actually stopping to think after such a long time.

"…This person… will fight me?" asked the boy.

"He likes fighting just as much as you do and I doubt you'd give him a choice even if he refused," came the answer.

The boy felt a sense of apprehension.

"This person… is he strong?" he asked as a smile started to creep onto his features.

"He's rumored to be the strongest man in the Zaraki District."

By this time the boy's smile was on at full force and his eyes flashed in anticipation.

"Who is this man?" asked the boy.

"...Have you heard of the name, 'Kenpachi'?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**4 weeks later…**

Ichigo appeared beside Jushiro who was sitting on the plateau staring out at Rukongai.

"A yen for your thoughts?" asked Ichigo settling down beside Jushiro.

Jushiro didn't turn to Ichigo; she simply continued to survey the rows of wooden huts that rowed the land for miles. After a moment of silence, Jushiro finally decided to answer.

"Do you think we can make a difference here?" asked Jushiro

Ichigo lifted a brow.

"I dunno it depends on what needs changing," said Ichigo.

"Well look at the place, they seem to be scared of their own shadow because the nobility won't help them," said Jushiro frowning at Seireitei.

Ichigo looked out at Rukongai.

"They do seem to be scared of that don't they?" said Ichigo before he chuckled, "Well then, let's make it our job to protect it ourselves after we're done with our training."

Ichigo looked to Jushiro who continued to look down at Rukongai, but she also had a light smile gracing her lips. Ichigo smirked at his accomplished mission before he looked back at Rukongai as well. The two sat in silence as the gentle breeze blew down from the plateau to the sprawling city below. Suddenly the two felt the presence of their master approaching them causing the two to get up from their perch and face the approaching man. Genryusai stopped before the two and studied them for a while before clearing his throat.

"You two have shown great progress in your training throughout these past few months," said Genryusai, "In fact, you are developing faster than any normal Shinigami can ever hope to."

Jushiro and Ichigo bowed at the praise.

"Thank you master," they said in unison.

"Your progress has gone so fast, I think it is about time that we move on to the next phase of your training," said Genryusai.

Jushiro and Ichigo looked at each other with excitement before turning back to Genryusai with barely contained anxiety.

"Time for what exactly, Sensei?" asked Ichigo.

"It is time for you to learn about your Zanpakuto and learn the ways of Zanjutsu," said Genryusai.

"Zanjutsu?" asked Jushiro.

"Zanpakuto?" asked Ichigo.

Genryusai simply drew his sword and held it in front of him.

"A Zanpakuto is no mere sword, it is a part of who a Shinigami is, an extension of a Shinigami's very being," said Genryusai, "It could be said that the Zanpakuto is another soul residing within a Shinigami."

Ichigo put a hand over his chest and looked down in wonder.

_Another soul living within me…_

"The bond between a Zanpakuto and a Shinigami is absolute," said Genryusai, "A Shinigami cannot properly wield another Shinigami's Zanpakuto unless it is a special case, but we will get into that later."

Suddenly Genryusai held his Zanpakuto in front of him with the blade pointed at the sky.

"Another thing about a Zanpakuto is that it is also an extension of a Shinigami's power," said Genryusai, "My Zanpakuto is currently in a sealed state, but…"

Ichigo suddenly felt the air get hotter and felt his skin tingle at the sensation. Pretty soon Ichigo was wiping sweat from his brow at the heat and Ichigo was sharp enough to know that it was his master's doing.

"Reduce all creation to ash," said Genryusai, "Ryujin Jakka."

Suddenly an explosion of hot energy erupted from Genryusai forcing Ichigo and Jushiro to shield their faces and brace themselves against the earth. When the energy faded, they looked up and gasped when they saw Genryusai's sword on fire.

"This is my Zanpakuto's released state," explained Genryusai, "A state where the Zanpakuto awakens from dormancy to show the power that resides within it and in turn its Shinigami master."

Ichigo thought back his own sword, or Zanpakuto, and how he was able to release that arc of energy at that boy who attacked him and Jushiro.

"But Master," said Ichigo, "If the Zanpakuto is dormant in the sealed stated, why was I able to release an arc of energy before?"

Genryusai smirked.

"That Ichigo is because you and your Zanpakuto are unstable in terms of reiatsu due to poor control, but I am going to teach both of you how to properly seal your Zanpakuto and help you learn of their names," said Genryusai before suddenly looking to the right, "But we must pause here for we have a visitor."

Jushiro and Ichigo followed Genryusai's gaze to a figure stalking up towards them. The figure stopped a bit of a distance away from the rest.

"Sorry I'm late, had some important business that I had to attend to," he said.

"Oh? And who might you be?" asked Ichigo with a suspiciously knowing smile.

The boy looked at Ichigo with a savage smile on his face.

"Zaraki," said the boy, "Kenpachi Zaraki."

* * *

**1 year later…**

Ichigo dodged another attack thrown by Kenpachi.

"Hah! So are you just going to avoid all my attacks? I thought you were stronger than that!" Kenpachi shouted.

Ichigo smiled.

"It's called assessing your opponent's attack pattern," said Ichigo.

Kenpachi smirked.

"Heh, you're sure a quick study," said Kenpachi, "Personally I don't give a shit, and I just wanna fight!"

Kenpachi launched himself forward swinging his sword at Ichigo. Ichigo easily blocked the swing with his huge sword.

"Which is the reason why you have the name Kenpachi, but there are some things that your just can't rely on instinct to do for you," said Ichigo.

Kenpachi pushed off Ichigo and charged again.

"I see your every move coming before you even swing," said Ichigo blocking and dodging every single swing fluidly.

He then punched Kenpachi in the stomach causing him to fly backwards into the ground below.

"Your instinct narrows your creativity in battle and therefore makes you easy to read, although with your raw power, that shouldn't be a problem for you with most opponents," said Ichigo.

Kenpachi got up from the crater he created and smirked up at Ichigo.

"You're really starting to sound like the old geezer," he said.

Ichigo shrugged and held out his hand. Kenpachi took it and Ichigo helped him up.

"He brings up good points," said Ichigo simply.

Suddenly there was an explosion causing both Kenpachi and Ichigo to look over. A manikin that used to be sitting on a cliff was blown away… as well as part of the cliff. Jushiro stood there with a look of accomplishment on her face.

"That must be her Shakkaho… impressive," muttered Ichigo.

"Hmph, I just don't see the reason why anyone needs Kido," lamented Kenpachi, "It's so much more fun to charge in with your sword... or your 'Zanpakuto'."

Ichigo shrugged again.

"Well at least you know you're a natural at Zanjutsu," said Ichigo before resting his sword on his shoulder, "Although you seem to have trouble actually finding your Zanpakuto's name."

Kenpachi shouldered his sword as well with a snort.

"Che, even if I don't, I don't need a partner to enjoy fighting… although I do know how painful it is to not have a name…" he said before sending a sideways glance towards his Zanpakuto a rare show of sadness, even if it was extremely subtle.

Ichigo simply nodded before looking at his own Zanpakuto. He too found it a bit hard to find the name of his Zanpakuto, but he did however manage to hear his voice. It was faded, but it was there. Jushiro told Ichigo that she can hear hers clearly, but when it came to the name, all sound would just cut out. It was indeed odd, but Genryusai assured them that it was only because they weren't ready yet. Suddenly Ichigo felt an aura of restlessness and smirked towards Kenpachi.

"So… round two?" asked Ichigo.

Kenpachi simply grinned. The two charged at each other once more shaking the ground with the amount of reiatsu their combined strength let off.


End file.
